Art or method of compressing cotton or other fibrous materials.



PATENTED MAR. 14, 1905.

0. J. LUGE. ART 0R METHOD OF GOMPRESSING COTTON OR OTHER FIBROUSMATERIALS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.1Z.1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

I l ||||r|||||||' Q Q j Char/(o JZarc.

No. 784,579. PATENTED MAR. 14, 1905.

' O. J. LUGE. ART 0R METHOD OF OOMPRESSING COTTON OR OTHER FIBROUSMATERIALS.

APBLIOATION FILED I'EB.12.1904.

2 SHEETSSHET 2.

Ola/Zea Jficcoe UNITED STATES Patented March 14, 1905.

PATENT QFFICEG CHARLES J. LUCE, OF N IANTIC, CONNECTICUT, ASSIO-NOR 'I'OLUCE COM- PRESS & COTTON COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

ART OR METHOD OF COMPRESSING COTTON OR OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 784,579, dated March14, 1905.

Application filed February 12, 1904. Serial No. 193,329.

To all ruhrmt it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. LUCE, acitizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Niantic, State of Connecticut, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in the Art or Method of CompressingCotton or other Fibrous 'Materials, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to a process for mak- Io ing a bale of suitabledensity, size, and shape of cotton or any other fibrous material.

Generally speaking, my mode of forming a bale is to form a continuouswad of compressed cotton and then to lay down this continuous I 5 wad insuccessive laps or layers upon each other under pressure, maintainingthe pressure originally imparted to the cotton when the continuous wadwas formed and increasing it. My method also involves the rolling of thelayers or laps as they are laid down with a series of rollerssuccessively operating upon the layer while it is maintained underpressure. Heretofore others have formed a bale by the same general modewhich I employ of forming a continuous wad of cotton and laying that waddown fold upon fold and compressing the bale thus formed to a suitabledensity; but I have discovered certain facts with reference to thebehavior of cotton under certain conditions which enable me to produce abale of cotton formed of a continuous wad laid layer upon layer andcompressed of greater density than has heretofore been possible, and Ihave accomplished this density "55 with less effort, in shorter time,and with greater regularity of result than has ever heretofore beendone. At the same time I accomplish another very important result: Iproduce a bale which, although having a density of from thirty to fortypounds to the eubic foot a density so great as to preclude thepossibility of satisfactory sampling of the bale when so compressed-hasupon two of its sides a layer of cotton having a density as low as fiveor six pounds to the cubic foot.

In an application for patent filed by me on the 2d day of July, I902,Serial No. 114:,128, and in another application filed concurrentlyherewith I have described in detail the machines with which I haveperformed the op- 5 erations involved in the method herein described andclaimed; but the method is capable of being performed in many otherdifi'erent ways and by different mechanisms.

I have by experience established certain facts which I believe to beessential to the successful use of my method. I have found that if thebale be formed under a pressure in the forming-press which will producea density of about fifteen pounds to the cubic foot and if then the balewhen finished be transferred to a certain compress for the purpose ofincreasing the density of the bale to thirty pounds to the cubic feet acertain power in the second press will be necessary, whereas if the balebe formed in my press or one of similar construction of a continuous wadof cotton formed and held under pressure and then laid down layer uponlayer upon the bale-forming press under a pressure which will produce adensity in the halo as formed of twentyseven pounds to the cubic footthat a bale thus formed loses to a great extent its power of expansionand may be removed from the forming-press without binding and whentransferred to the second press may be compressed to a density of thirtypounds to the cubic foot or even as much as forty pounds to the cubicfoot with less than half the power required to produce thirty pounds tothe cubic foot when the density in the forming-press was only fifteenpounds to the cubic foot. I do not know the physical reason for thisresult, but I am of the opinion that it is produced by the exclusion ofair from the con- 5 tinuous wad of cotton as it is laid down upon thebale in the operation of forming. Probably the air is notonly excludedfrom the interstices between the fibers of cotton, but it is alsoexcluded from the cells of the fibers. 9o \Vhen, therefore, a bale ofthis kind consistingof nothing but cotton fiber, with little or noincluded air, is transferred to a second compress for the purpose ofincreasing its density, the resistance offered to the second compress isonly such resistance as is offered by the vegetable structure of thecotton itself and not by any air which has to be compressed as the baleitself is compressed. I have discovered a further fact that if when thebale is formed by laying down a continuous wad of compressed cotton lapupon lap the compression-rollers are carried in their stroke back andforth across the top of the bale to or beyond the extreme edge of thebale the bale will be of uniform density to the extreme edge andsampling will be very difficult. If, however, the operative rollers arestopped in their travel at a distance of an inch or an inch and a halffrom the edge of the bale and the lap of the wad is formed withoutcompression by the rollers except such as results from the passage ofthe following roller by which the lap is formed over it, the fold of thewad at the edge of the bale will when the bale is finished possess adensity of only five or six pounds to the cubic foot. I attribute thisresult to a lateral expansion of the wad during the operation of formingthe bale, which results in giving to the bale on two of its sides thosewhere the folds of the wad occura softness sufficient to permitsampling.

The machine illustrated in this case is substantially the same as thatdescribed in the applications above referred to, but is shown hereindiagrammatically.

Figure l is a diagram showing the mode of forming a bale by laying downa continuous wad of compressed cotton lap upon lap upon a followerpressed upward by suitable means. Fig. 2 shows the same structure with abale nearly finished and the compressing-carriage in an oppositeposition from that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows the same structure withthe secondary press attached, showing a bale finished and held intemporary clamps for removal of the second press. Fig. 4 is an elevationof the bale as bound in ties. Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing theappearance of several laps or folds of the continuous wad laid down uponeach other with less than maximum compression, and Fig. 6 shows the samewith maximum compression.

In the drawings the same numerals indicate the same parts in allfigures.

1 represents a reciprocating platen, the framework of which is notshown, but in which are mounted the series of rollers 2 2. Each rolleris independently revolved by racks 3 and rolls on tracks 4. An aperture5 is maintained between the two central rollers of the series. Thisaperture is of a size greater than the aperture between the feed-rollsof the hopper. Through this aperture the cotton is fed to the compress.

5 represents a pressure-head or follower of a suitable hydraulic pressoperated by a piston in a cylinder 6.

A throat 8 is located above the aperture 5, com posed of two platespivoted below the feeds rolls 9 9 and extending down to a point betweenthe center rolls 2 2 as far as the axes of those rolls. At the upperends of said throat are feed-rolls 9 and a hopper 10, in which thecotton is received and from which it is drawn by the feed-rolls 9 9. Itwill be understood that the hopper, feed-rolls 9 9, and throat 8 are astructural part of the reciprocating platen and travel with it back andforth across the stationary follower 5, the hopper, its

.throat, and the roller-platen maintaining their relative positions atall times.

Cotton is introduced into the hopper 10 and is fed between thefeed-rolls 9 9, and as it passes between them it is semicompressed andcrowded into the throat and formed into a continuous Wad. This isaccomplished by the fact that the rolls 9 9 revolve at a greater speedthan the reciprocation of the roller-platen, so that the cotton isforced down by the rolls 9 9 into the throat faster than it is takenaway from the bottom of the throat by reciprocation of the rolls 2 2.Hence there is a certain degree of compression in the throat, which is avaluable element in the process. WVhen the density in the throat becomessufficient. the rolls 9 9 will slip and not increase that density,although they will maintain it. The wad once formed in the throat isconfined and held under pressure, and from the very beginning of itsformation it is forced down continuously and kept under pressure and isthen delivered to the press in a continuous wad under a constantpressure throughout its whole extent. it will thus be seen that thecotton fed into the throat is first formed into a continuous bat and issemicompressed. By reference to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be noticed thatwhen the rollerplaten is in its extreme position and one of the centerrolls has reached the extreme limit of its throw its bite. representedby a vertical plane passing through its axis, will stand a shortdistance back from the edge of the bale. In practice this distance isabout an inch and a half. This position ofthe rolls will leave the wadwhich is being forced down through the throat without any support belowfor a period of time, during which the change of directionintheroller-platen takes place. This period of time will be sufficientto permit the small portion of cotton thus unsupported to expandsomewhat. As the first roller of the rollerplaten returns upon the wadit will make a fold in the wad in the center of this portion which hasexpanded, being relieved from pressure, and thus lay down at the edge ofthe bale a portion of the wad which has been given an opportunity toexpand before it was folded. As soon as this expanded portion has beenlaid down theroller will then continue to lay down upon the bale the wadas it comes from the throat, and for the remainder of the stroke acrossthe bale the pressure of the throat upon thewad will be continuous, willbe unrelieved, and will be augmented by the pressure of the rollers asthey successively pass over it. The

, bar 11.

permitted to expand, so that when folded and laid down upon the bale thefold will be of less density than the remainder of the bale.

As previously stated, the pressure which I have found suitable for themost successful use of my process, as described, is the pressure whichwill produce a density of about twenty-seven pounds to the cubic foot. Abale completed by my method and under this pressure,'as described, maybe released from the press and transferred to another compress withoutbinding. I have found by experience that for a period of time sufficientto make this transfer a bale formed as described will not expand. Thisis probably due to the almost total exclusion of air and the adhesion ofthe fibers to each other. In order, however, to handle the bale easilyand transfer it quickly to the second compress, I provide a pair ofU-shaped holders 11, which are provided on their lower corner withrollers 11.

11" represents loose rails carried by the follower of the compress 5 andstanding a short distance below the level of the follower. When the baleis laid down upon the follower, its ends project beyond the ends of thefollower and overhang these rails 11.

11 represents supports for the rails 11, with which they will contact asthe follower descends.

hen the bale is finished and the follower is drawn away from theroller-platen, two holders 11 may be placed upon the bale by insertingthe two racks of the holder above and below the bale, the roller 11resting upon the track-bar 11". The follower 5 may then be still furtherdepressed and drawn away from the bale, when the track-bar 11 will restupon its supports 11 11 and the bale will be held supported in theholders 11 11 upon the track- 12 12 are tracks connecting the firstcompress with the second compress. The second compress is numbered 12and is provided with a follower 13 and a yoke 13, held to the base bysuitable rods 13". The bale may now be moved in its holders 11 on thetrack 11 and 19. from the first compress to the second compress. Thesecond compress may now be started, and as the follower l3 compressesthe bale the holders 11 may be removed, and when the bale has reachedthe desired compression in the second compress permanent ties may beplaced around it.

One of the advantages of my mode of baling lies in the fact that thecotton is received in my hopper as it comes fromthe gin, carried bysuction, the fibers of cotton being to a greater or less extent parallelwith each other as they are carried along by the current of air. Theypass immediately into the hopper and thence into the bale with little orno change in their arrangement, the result being that they are laid downupon the bale in a continuous wad, the fibers being more or lessparallel to the continuous wad. This insures a wad which is smooth,homogeneous to a great extent, adherent, and which retains its identityno matter What amount of pressure may be applied to the bale forcompression. When the bale is opened, the continuous wad may be reeledoff from the bale as if it were a woven fabric. The fiber is preservedunbroken and unfelted, expands freely when exposed to the air, and isgenerally uninjured by the operation of baling, and is so easilydistributed when the bale is opened as to greatly facilitate thesubsequent manufacturing operations.

I am aware of the fact that baling-presses employing a series ofreciprocating rollers for the purpose of folding and laying downacontinuous wad of cotton layer upon layer to form a bale have been madeand used; but as far as I know none of these machines have ever produceda bale from which the air has been sufficiently excluded to destroy theclasticity of the bale and to permit of its further compression withcomparatively small power. I believe I am the first person who has everdiscovered the critical conditions necessary to produce the result whichI have accomplished. Those conditions consist in laying down a eontinuous web layer upon layer to produce a bale and subjecting the baleand the layer as it is laid down to a pressure sufficient to produce adensity of about twenty-seven pounds to the cubic foot and applying thatpressure in a series of vertical planes of pressure which are caused toadvance back and forth across the bale to the layer as each layer islaid down. By these means sufficient pressure is applied to each layeras it islaid down to exclude the air, and the pressure is applied in aseries of vertical planes which are caused to advance back and forthacross the layer as it is laid down, so as to work out the air containedin each layer and prevent it from returning. I believe that I am thefirst one to have discovered that if the vertical planes of pressure arenot permitted to extend in their travel to the full width of the bale,but are stopped some distance short of the fold of the layer, the foldwill expand laterally and produce a soft surface on each side of thebale of sufficient depth to permit a very hard bale to be sampled withease.

By the expressions a continuous pressure, without relieving thepressure, &c., which are used in the claims, I intend to convey that thematerial is maintained under contin uous pressure, not necessarilycontinuously under the same pressure, but continuously under a degree ofpressure throughout its entire extent.

IIO

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. The art of forming abale which consists of first forming a continuouswad under pressure, maintaining the pressure upon the wad and thenfolding the wad into layers and piling the layers one upon the other inbale form, applying to the wad as it is laid down a continuous pressuregreater than the original compression applied to the wad, substantiallyas described.

2. The art of forming a bale which consists of first forming acontinuous wad under pressure, maintaining the pressure upon the wad andthen laying down and folding the wad into layers and piling them oneupon the other in bale form, the operation of laying down beingperformed under a continuous pressure, substantially as described,sufficient, when the bale is completed, to prevent its immediateexpansion.

3. The art of forming a bale which consists of first forming acontinuous Wad, maintaining the pressure upon the wad and then foldingthe continuous wad into layers and laying the layers down upon eachother to form a bale and maintaining upon the bale and the layers asthey are laid down a continuous pressure sufficient to produce in thebale a density of about twenty-seven pounds to the cubic foot.

4. The art of forminga bale which consists of first forming a continuouswad under pressure, maintaining the pressure upon the wad and thenfolding the Wad into layers and laying the layers down one upon theother in bale form, applying to the layers as they are laid downapressure sufficient to produce a density of about twenty-seven poundsto the cubic foot by means of a procession of pressure devices which arecaused to travel back and forth across the bale as the layers are laiddown, ap-

plying the desired pressure to the layers as they are laiddown inaseriesof vertical planes which are caused to travel back and forth across thelayers and the bale as the layers are laid down.

5. The art of forming a bale which consists of first forming acontinuous wad under pressure, then folding the wad into layers andlaying the layers down one upon another in bale form, while maintainingthe primary pressure upon the wad at all times except at the instant atwhich the fold of the wad occurs, when the pressure is relievedtemporarily, then applying to the wad as it is laid down a pressuregreater than that applied to the wad during its formation, the balingpressure being applied in a series of distinct vertical planes separatedfrom each other, which are caused to travel back and forth across thebale, and the layers as they are laid down, the exterior of saidvertical planes of pressure on each side stopping short in their travelof the fold of the layer on each side of the bale.

6. The art of forming a bale which consists of first formingacontinuouswad, maintaining the pressure on the wad and then folding the Wad intolayersand laying the layers down one upon the other in bale form,applying to the layers as they are laid down a pressure suflicient toproduce a density of about twentyseven pounds to the cubic foot by meansof a procession of pressure devices which are caused to travel back andforth across the bale as the layers are laid down, applying the desiredpressure to the layers as they are laid down in a series of verticalplanes which are caused to travel back and forth across the layers andthe bale as the layers are laid down.

7. The art of forming a bale which consists of first forming acontinuous wad, maintaining the pressure on the wad and then folding theWad into layers and laying down the layers one upon another to form abale, thelayers being laid down under a pressure sufiicient to producein the bale a density of about twentyseven pounds to the cubic foot, andthis pressure being applied in a series of vertical planes separatedfrom each other, which vertical planes of pressure are caused to advanceback and forth across the bale and the layers as they are laid down.

8. As a new article of manufacture, a bale of cotton or other similarmaterial formed of a continuous wad folded into layers, which are piledone upon the other to form the bale, the body of the bale having a highdensity and the folds of the wad which form the two sides of the balehaving a low density, substantially as described.

9. The art of forming a bale which consists of forming a continuous Wadby a preliminary pressure, and forming the Wad into a bale, subjectingsaid bale to a greater pressure than that given the wad withoutrelieving the pressure on the wad.

10. The art of forming a bale which consists of forming acontinuous wadunder a constant .forcing pressure, and forming the wad into a bale, andsubjecting said bale to a greater pressure than that given the wadwithout relieving the pressure on the wad.

11. The art of forming a bale which consists of first forming bypressure a wad, forming the wad into a bale, and then immediately givingsaid bale a greater compression than the pressure on the wad withoutrelieving the firstnamed pressure.

12. The art of-forming a bale which consists of forming a continuous batand semicompressing it into a wad, and then. forming the Wad into a baleby greater pressure than the preliminary pressure, Without relieving thepressure on the wad.

13. The art of forming a bale which consists of forming a wad under aconstant pressure,

and then laying the wad down in layers under pressure to form a balewithout relieving the pressure on the wad.

14. The art of forming a bale which consists of forming a wad under aconstant pressure, secondly. laying the wad down in successive layers toform a bale without relieving the pressure on the wad, and thirdly,applying a pressure to the bale greater than the pressure to form thewad.

15. The art of forming a bale which consists of forming a wad by apreliminary and continuous pressure throughout its whole extent, andthen forming the wad into a bale by a greater pressure than thepreliminary compression without relieving the pressure on the wad.

'16. The art of forminga bale which consists of forming a wad bypressure, forcing the wad into a bale by pressure greater than thepressure on the wad and without relieving the pressure on the wad, thentransferring the bale and applying pressure greater than that beforegiven, the latter pressure being greater than the previouscompressions,and then binding the bale.

17. The art of forming a bale which consists of forming a wad bypressure, forming the wad into a bale by folding it to form layers, thefolding of the wad spreading and separating the fibers of the material,then applying pressure to the bale to laterally expand the folds toproduce a plurality offlulfy ridges it the ends of the bale, and thenbinding the ale.

Signed by me at New York, county and State of N ew York, this 28th dayof January,

CHARLES J; LUCE. W'itnesses:

SAM. SAVAGE, L. H. LA'II-IAM.

